Andrei Arlovski. Image copyright Bob Guerrero.Testosterone was in the air at the official weigh-in of the ONE Fighting Championship: Pride of a Nation at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
All the fighters made their respective weights, but there was also plenty of other drama.
One of the more explosive weigh-ins was for the Welterweight showdown between Phil "The New York Bad-ass" Baroni and Rodrigo Ribeiro of Brazil.
Unlike almost all the other fighters, Baroni made it a point to disrobe in front of the crowd before weighing in, revealing his fearsome upper body and tree trunk-like legs.
Phil Baroni and Rodrigo Ribeiro. Image copyright Bob Guerrero.
When he and Ribeiro faced off for the photographers Baroni could clearly be seen saying "I'll f**k you up" inches from Ribeiro's face. They began jawing, and ONE FC officials had to pry them apart before things escalated.
That was merely an appetizer for the weigh in for the Tim Sylvia- Andrei Arlovski Heavyweight clash.
Sylvia tipped the scales at 120.5 kg, Arloski a much lighter 111.8. The Belarussian Sambo fighter displayed fake vampire teeth to the crowd after standing on the scale.
The subsequent staredown between the two massive fighters was a lot longer than expected, with the pair going nose-to-nose in silence.
Tim Sylvia and Andrei Arlovski. Image copyright Bob Guerrero.
The boxers were meant to face the scrum of photographers for a side-by-side pictures but instead they glared at each other anew. Eventually with the help of ONE FC president Victor Cui they were peeled away from each other.
Arlovski and Sylvia have met on three separate occasions, with Sylvia getting the better of his rival twice and Arlovski winning the other.
When asked if Arlovski wins on Friday if he would be open to a fifth fight to break the tie, he replied "yes, absolutely."
The other weigh ins went down without incident. Gustavo Falciroli of Australia and Bibiano Fernades of Brazil comprise the main event of the evening, and the Bantamweights both got down to 61.5 kg.
ONE FC's Victor Cui flanked by Gustavo Falciroli and Bibiano Fernandes. Image copyright Bob Guerrero.
Peruvian-Swiss Felipe Enomoto weighed in wearing an ethnic mask and displayed a deeply cut upper body. His opponent, Team Lakay's Eduard Folayang from Baguio also made Lightweight at 70.8 kg, .2 kg more than Enomoto.
Felipe Enomoto (left) and Eduard Folayang. Image copyright Bob Guerrero.
Another Pinoy on the card, Bantamweight Kevin Belingon, will square off with Soo Chul Kim of South Korea. The Korean is reportedly confident of victory but Belingon, also a Wushu artist out of Team Lakay, said he would "kick his ass" in an interview weeks ago.
Soo Chul Kim and Kevin Belingon. Image copyright Bob Guerrero.
The Featherweight division will also be a part of Friday's fight card, with American former UFC Champ Jens Pulver duking it out with the ferociously quick and strong Eric Kelly of the Philippines. Kelly is another Igorot born and raised in Baguio but at present fighting out of Muayfit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Jens Pulver and Eric Kelly. Image copyright Bob Guerrero.
The first fight of Friday's card will be an all-Filipino Featherweight bout pitting Andrew Benibe against Universal Reality Combat Championship Featherweight champ Honorio Banario.
While not a Filipino, Australian Nicholas Mann trains in Hybrid Yaw-Yan, (Sayaw ng Kamatayan) a Filipino discipline, and owns the URCC Light Heavyweight belt. Mann will go up against Gregor Gracie of the Renzo Gracie Academy in an 80 kg Catchweight fight.
Two other Gracies will take part in the card. Welterweight Igor Gracie squares off against Jung Hwan Cha of Korea while Heavyweight Rolles Gracie tests his mettle against Australian King of the Cage Light Heavyweight king Tony Bonello.
Shinya Aoki of Japan was originally scheduled to fight in the main event on Friday against an unnamed opponent but he has been moved to the ONE FC's next card on October in Singapore.
Andrei Arlovski has endeared himself to Pinoy fans by his goofy demeanor and his "I love the Philippines" t-shirt. When asked what he would do to Sylvia he once again repeated his charge from the open workout the day before, saying "I'll be like a proctologist and stick my f*****g fist up his a** and tear out his throat."
But he did add one detail to the threat: "I'll wear rubber gloves."
Tickets are still available on www.ticketnet.com.ph. The fights can also be viewed via live streaming on www.onefc.livesport.tv.